Written by Geoff Johns
Penciled by Francis Manapul
Colored by Brian Buccellato
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Manapul & Buccellato
My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
Isn’t it nice when you buy a comic, sit down, open it up, and you’ve read over ten pages without running into a single advertisement? I haven’t gone back to look but I believe it’s over ten pages before the first advertisement punches me in the face! It’s one of the more satisfying revelations that I can have in my comic reading experiences.
Aside from that very joyous aspect of Flash #3, the bulk of this issue continues the mystery of Flash outrunning the futuristic time cops who have an apparent legal right to arrest someone for committing a murder that has not happened yet. #3 also begins the connection between Digger Harkness and the Brightest Day/Blackest Night fiasco. Reestablishing a hero is not an easy thing to do, which is why Geoff Johns is such a gold mine for DC Comics; he has the ability at making a hero’s purpose meaningful and mysterious.
Flash #3 doesn’t really give us anything new to further the story along. There is a brief mentioning that if the time cops take Iris, the whole ordeal would be finished. But it’s merely icing on this mysterious cake that doesn’t extend further than what you see on paper. You could almost say #3 is a complete rehashing of last month’s “Flash” installment; time cops come for Barry, he and Iris meet for coffee, Barry gets into a verbal tussle with his coworker, it all has a familiar taste to it. This issue’s main concern was bringing in Captain Boomerang and showing off his new supernatural ability which is a result of what happened during Blackest Night. It’s quite interesting to think about, out of all the villains to choose from, Captain Boomerang is the one at focus here. It’s not a bad thing by any means, just interesting.
The story and themes themselves, like I stated above, doesn’t do much as far as pushing forward with this story arc. However, Johns seems to be more concerned with establishing Barry Allen since he’s been gone for so long. Barry still has a knack for using his connection to the Speed Force very intelligently and doesn’t just “run away” from his enemies. However, I do hope next month we get a better picture about why the Renegades are after Flash. Who does Flash kill? I have my suspicions, but I’ll leave that to myself for right now. I just hope Iris is kept safe!
I’m becoming a big fan of artists whose artistic style doesn’t resemble the typical style you find in comics these days. You got Jim Lee, Ed Benes, Tony Daniel, Ivan Reis, Doug Mahnke, etc., and they’re all GREAT, but their styles are quite similar. When you compare them to Amanda Conner, Frank Quietly, and Francis Manapul, the styles are just so different that, from an artist’s perspective, it quite artistically rejuvenating. Manapul definitely has a style that I constantly go back to after reading an issue merely to gaze upon his work. The best way to describe it is rough and smooth, all at the same time. But credit is also due to his colorist, Buccellato, whose painted look brings out the artistry even more.
My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion
Nothing profound or enduring, it’s just a lot of fun and engaging to read. I wonder when we’ll find out who Flash is supposedly going to murder.
Ratings
Writing: 9
Themes: 8
Art: 10
Overall: 9 out of 10
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